Treetop Haven
by An Preson Peepul
Summary: Putting a treehouse on the edge of Subcon Forest probably wasn't the best idea, but where else are you going to find tall enough trees to have one?


Been a while since I've done anything for a Hat in Time. If this piece seems a bit clunky, it might either be because of that, or because of my insistence on the whole "no-speaky" thing.

Anyway, I've been writing off one-shots to try to improve my focus when it comes to writing. I can't say it's working, but I had a blast writing this, so who knows? I got this idea from a random conversation I had on the Hat in Time discord server about treehouses, so if anyone who participated in that is reading this, you helped bring this upon us.

Review if you have the time. Really makes me feel good about writing these things. (Oh yeah, and they can help me improve my writing, so there's that)

* * *

Most of the Subcon Forest was covered in a big, stormy cloud, and sunlight never seemed to reach the floor. Some people (*cough cough*) seemed to think living in dark places made them look scary. Clouds weren't scary, though. It wasn't like you could find them everywhere else.

That being said, the Subcon Forest was the only place you could put down a treehouse. The big spooky clouds blocked the sun from a large part of the woods, but go to the edges as you were bound to find one or two sunny spots lying around.

It was at one of these rare sunny spots that Hat Kid found herself in, staring up into the treetops. Past the yellow beams of light slipping through the canopy and nestled between a thick tangle of leaves, there was a big wooden box fastened to the tree. Her treehouse, hidden between the trees, with many, many steps spiraling up to it around the thick trunk. It shone brightly in the afternoon sun, and its bright colors flowed into the green leaves in a way that helped it stand out but didn't make its appearance too sudden.

Hat Kid looked over her shoulder to Bow Girl standing behind her, just a little curious to see what she thought. She hid the fact she was impressed very well. Staring at the treehouse for such a long time, with such a flat expression, blinking the sleep out of her eyes; if she didn't know any better, Hat Kid would have thought her uninterested.

Normally she considered herself patient. But now was not the time for patience. Now was the time for showing off her new treehouse, and that was what Hat Kid planned to do as she wrapped an arm around Bow Kid and hauled her up the stairs before she could get a word in.

The inside of the treehouse waiting for them was as cozy as it looked on the outside. The rays of sunlight lit up the shiny wooden floors, and a heater somewhere buzzed as it filled the room with warm air. There were cushions on the floor, scattered around in case anyone tripped and fell so they wouldn't break their face or something. Everything was so bright and snuggly, just how she liked it.

There was a TV on the one end of the room, upon an elevated platform nearly hidden away out of sight. The screen was blank, staring down at the two flat cushions in front of it. On the other end of the room, there was a table close to the floor with a plate of chocolate chip cookies on top of it, and two china cups set around that plate. Hat Kid dragged Bow Kid over to the table and sat her down at a beanbag chair next to it. She turned to leave, but the sugary smell enticed her to stay, if only to grab a cookie off the plate and cram it into her mouth. The number of cookies on the platter dwindled from its already small number, but that was fine. She had more cookies baking in the kitchen.

Hat Kid made a motion for Bow Girl to stay as she stepped away. She told her she needed to wait a moment while she went to fetch something else. Good things came to little girls who waited. Hopefully, Bow Girl knew that too.

She scurried to kitchen, brushing past the sea of pillows as she crossed over to the back of the room. She poked her head inside and was greeted to the sight of plain wooden walls. There wasn't as much color to it as she would have liked, but she'd run out of paint by the time she got here.

Hat Kid was a bit worried when she didn't immediately find what she was looking for. Carefully, she eased her way into the separate room. She looked around, glancing left and right. Wood, wood, and more wood. Cabinets flew open, but all that was inside were baked goods and assorted ingredients. She always liked to be prepared in case she needed to whip up something fast, but right now all this clutter wasn't making it easy to find things.

And then she saw it. A flash of silver between a box of baking soda and a jar of flour, sitting atop the counter on the far side of the kitchen. She pushed them aside, careful not to spill anything to the floor. With the two ingredients pushed aside, they revealed a shiny metal teapot, the tiniest whiff of steam curling out of the spout, smelling of syrup and flowers.

Without a second thought, she grabbed the kettle off the table and rushed out the door. A cushion flew up as she stopped just outside. Her eyes went to the small table. The platter of cookies was there, as were the two teacups. The only one who wasn't?

Bow Girl.

Hat Kid's cheeks puffed up in a pout. Maybe she was taking too long in the kitchen, and Bow Girl got bored. Or, more likely, she just snuck off the moment Hat Kid's back was turned.

Taking a second to set down the teapot, she ran across the cushions covering the floor to the loft. She was up and over the ladder in a flash. Hat Kid wasn't surprised to find Bow Girl staring back at her, a jumping dog on the screen above. She wasn't even angry Bow Girl ditched her. Just very disappointed.

She frowned.

Bow Girl frowned back.

Hat Kid frowned even harder.

Bow Girl fell asleep. (Or maybe she was pretending, with how loud she was "snoring")

* * *

Down on the forest floor, two yellow eyes pierced through the bushes. The Snatcher watched the treehouse with narrowed eyes, and his mouth opened in a snarl.

The nerve of those brats. The absolute nerve. Did they really think they could host a tea party in HIS forest, without inviting HIM? Ridiculous.

He and that hat brat had a contract saying that he was her BFF (Bratty Fiendish Friend? Was that what it stood for?), so surely he had tea party privileges, right?

Sure, that contract wasn't legally binding, since she'd changed the terms under his nose (or whatever he had there), but if anyone bothered to ask, they wouldn't know.

Besides, it wasn't like he cared about such petty things. The Snatcher didn't care about being her BFF or whatever. They were trespassing in his forest. He wanted them out.

He drifted into the treehouse without a sound, being a purple, floating spirit. Not that it mattered, since the brats were making plenty of noise themselves. The moment he entered, he was made aware of the hat brat and her friend arguing on the loft, so he made sure to steer clear of that. Soul-taking demon or not, getting between two time-altering little girls was not how he wanted to die.

Instead, he flew in the opposite direction. He entered a small area walled off from the room, and found himself standing inside a plain-looking kitchen, something that was rather surprising considering how much the hat brat loved that extra bit of flair. There were cabinet doors thrown open all over the place, and various baking ingredients stood to attention from within. He wondered if the hat brat was any good at baking. After all, Vanessa did have quite the sweet tooth.

The spirit shook his head. He was getting distracted.

Quickly he took in his surroundings, taking stock of whatever he could use to trash the place, and his eyes snapped onto the oven. From the dim light it was emitting, he could barely make out the cookie sheets laid within, and a malicious smirk played on his lips. If the hat brat really was the baker she made herself appear, then nothing would spoil her day more than a ruined batch of sweets.

His eyes scanned left and right, just to make sure he was alone. No one else was watching. It was the perfect crime. He reached over to the knobs at the top of the oven, and he slowly increased the oven's temperature.

When he was satisfied at how hot he'd set it to be, the Snatcher pulled away. With a smug smile on his face, he turned back to the direction of the main room. The sounds of shouting still came from outside.

The brats were still arguing. The Snatcher felt a flash of irritation. It seemed like it would be a while until the brats noticed his handiwork. Perhaps the smell of smoke would alert them, and then he could see the looks on their faces when they realized their cookies were scorched beyond recognition.

Something snapped out of his internal gloating. A light touch from beneath him, but he brushed it off as just the wind. There was no mistaking it when he felt a small hand grasping at him a second time.

"What?" he snarled as he turned around.

Only, he found it wasn't a small hand that was touching him. It was a small flame. The oven had been set too high, and the wooden planks set around it easily caught fire in the heat it was giving off.

* * *

In the end, all three of them were forced to flee. Standing on solid ground once more, they all watched the orange and red flames dance upon the treetops. There was a flat, darkened ledge branching off the trunk that had once been the treehouse. The fire had already burned through that, and the fire spirits were quick to claim the tree as their own, setting up barriers around it before it could spread.

Bow Girl stared at Hat Kid with unsteady feet. Hat Kid glared at the Snatcher, a little miffed that all her hard work had gone to waste. And the Snatcher just watched it all burn.

Angrily, Hat Kid thwacked the purple ghost with her umbrella. It just phased through, but it did catch his attention, and he leveled his yellow eyes at her.

"Oops," was all he said.

A semi-apology. That was all he could say to her. Hat Kid would have demanded more from her non-official second BFF, but Bow Girl looked like she was about to tip over. She decided that it was probably all the panic she must have felt from escaping that fire, so with one last glare at the Snatcher, she grabbed Bow Girl by the elbow and dragged her away.


End file.
